The New Marauders
by missmissa85
Summary: Albus Potter and Rose Weasley make an unusual friend on the train to Hogwarts. Could this be the next generation of Marauders?
1. Chapter 1

**The New Marauders**

A Harry Potter Fanfic

By Missmissa85

Author's Note: flashforeward's 'The Sorting', a story posted on fanlib, was the initial inspiration for this story. It was originally intended as a one-shot, but as you may have guessed from the addition of a second chapter, I continued this story due to the positive response I received on fanlib. I hope y'all enjoy it just as much.

Albus Potter and Rose Weasley sat quietly contemplating their fate as the Hogwarts express rumbled along.

"Rose, do you think you'll be in Gryffindor?" Albus asked his cousin suddenly.

Rose looked up from the Standard Book of Spells. "I don't know," she answered. "Dad's always telling me how much like Mum I am, and she once told me the Sorting Hat almost put her in Ravenclaw. Do you think _you'll_ be in Gryffindor?"

"Not sure," Al said. He wasn't sure he if he was authorized to share what his father had said about where the Sorting Hat almost put him twenty-six years ago.

Rose opened her mouth to ask another question when something crashed just outside their compartment. Al opened the door and saw a small blonde boy sprawled in front of him. The half-open cage of a tarantula landed on the boy's chest.

"Stay away from us, you pure-blooded traitor!" a voice bellowed.

Al recognized the bellowing voice; it was Alfie Thomas, one of James Potter's best friends. Al could see his brother attempting to pull his angry friend back into their own compartment.

"I am _not_ a traitor!" the blonde boy protested.

Alfie pulled his wand from beneath his robes and pointed it at the blonde boy, but Al jumped in front of him. James grabbed his friend around the waist and pulled him back before he could aim a curse at the younger boys. Rose grabbed the scurrying tarantula and put it back in its cage. Al turned and offered his hand to the blonde boy who gladly took it and stood up.

"What's going on here?" Percy Weasley bellowed as he entered the car.

"Nothing, nothing at all Uncle Perce. Why do you ask?" James said as he shoved Alfie into their compartment and shut the door.

"It's Professor Weasley while you're at school Mr. Potter," Percy answered sternly. "What is going on here?"

Percy was eyeing James suspiciously. Al could almost see the wheels in his brother's head spinning to come up with an explanation. He opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde boy's voice overrode his own, "It was my fault, Professor."

They all looked at the blonde boy and he seemed to cower under their gaze.

"You are?" Percy asked him.

"Scorpious, Scorpious Malfoy, Sir," he answered. "You see, my tarantula got loose and everyone was either running away from him or trying to help me catch him. I-it was quite noisy."

Percy raised an eyebrow and looked into James' compartment at Alfie Thomas. He looked back at Scorpious disbelievingly, but said, "All right then, I suppose you've cought the thing, right?"

Smiling, Rose held up the cage containing the tarantula. Percy visibly recoiled and James, Albus, and Rose all supressed the urge to giggle.

"Stay in your compartments for the remainder of the trip, if you please," Percy told them in his sternest voice. "Don't forget to change into your robes before we arrive."

As Percy stalked away, Al and Rose gently pushed Scorpious into the safety of their compartment. James roughly pulled Al aside.

"Al, you know who that boy is, don't you?" he asked his brother.

Al shook his arm out of James' grasp. "I'm not daft," he answered angrily. "I know whose son he is, but that doesn't matter. He's not his dad."

"He'll be a Slytherin for sure," James continued.

"So could I," Al answered defiantly.

James smiled kindly at his little brother and Al backed away in surprise. "No Slytherin would risk his own neck to help a complete stranger," James explained. "Complete, idiotic bravery. That's a Gryffindor trait."

"Thanks," Al said, unsure of what else to say.

"Be careful, Al," James told him.

"You too," Al answered doing his best to keep his suspicion of his brother's words out of his voice.

"I think Jamie's losing his touch," Al announced when he came back into the compartment with Rose and Scorpious.

"Who's Jamie?" Scorpious asked. His voice was quite shaky.

"James Sirius Potter is the tall auburn-haired boy," Rose answered most matter-of-factly.

"The one who wasn't trying to kill me?"

"Right," Al said smiling. He noticed how tightly Scorpious gripped the corners of his spider's cage and said, "Are you all right?"

"I don't want to be a Slytherin!" Scorpious suddenly burst out. "They're all Slytherins, the whole lot of them."

"Who?" Rose asked curiously.

"My family," Scorpius answered. "I'm doomed aren't I?"

"Well..." Rose began.

"No, you're not," Al answered with such assurance that Rose raised an eyebrow at him. "My dad told me that the Sorting Hat takes _your_ choice into account before it places you. If you don't want to be a Slytherin, it will put you someplace else."

Scorpious and Rose's eyes widened at Al's revelation. "Really?" Scorpious asked.

"Yeah," Al answered. "And my dad doesn't tell lies, it's written on his hand."

Rose rolled her eyes and picked up her book. Scorpious still looked nervous and confused.

"We're gonna have to come up with a better name for you than Scorpious," Al said after a few moments silence. "That's just too much of a mouthful."

"Yeah, it is," Scorpious agreed smiling.

All the first-years stood crowded together at the front of the Great Hall. Al, Rose, and Scorpy (that was the name they had decided on until they came up with something better) were all standing together. The Sorting Hat finished its song and Professor Longbottom, assistant headmaster and head of Gryffindor house, called out the first name. The young trio wasn't really paying attention until the professor said, "Rose Weasley."

Al and Scorpy watched as Rose bounced up to the platform. Neville placed the Sorting Hat on her head and the hat said quite loudly, "More Weasleys!? It must be...GRYFFINDOR!"

Professor Longbottom didn't even try to hide his excitement as the Gryffindor table burst into cheers. When the hall quieted down he continued. A few names later, he called out, "Albus Potter!"

Al and Scorpy shared a last look before Al ascended the platform. Before Professor Longbottom placed the Hat on his head, he whispered, "Don't worry, Al, I know where you're gonna be."

The hat was only on his head for a few seconds before it announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Al jumped up and joined his cousin and brother at the cheering Gryffindor table.

"Scorpious Malfoy!" Professor Longbottom called.

Scorpy timidly ascended the platform. He looked back at Al, who smiled encouragingly. Professor Longbottom, with the slightest sign of hesitation, placed the Hat on his head. It seemed an eternity before the Hat said, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The Hall fell completely silent. No Gryffindors cheered. Professor Longbottom looked completely stunned. The entire Slytherin table looked absolutely gobsmacked. Scorpy wore a strange expression of relief mixed with embarrasment.

Seeing that no one was moving, Al stuck his thumb and index finger in his mouth and whistled with all his might. Rose followed his example and clapped as loud as she could. James and a few others followed suit, and soon enough, almost the entire Gryffindor table was cheering for Scorpy. Scorpy, in response, ripped off the Hat and gave it back to Professor Longbottom before taking a seat between Rose and Al.

Harry started as he heard a loud 'pop' and Kreacher appeared in front of him.

"Master won't believe what Kreacher has to tell," the house-elf told him.

Harry groggily rubbed his eyes and said, "What is it, Kreacher?"

"Young Master Malfoy is in Gryffindor." Kreacher practically spat the last word.

"What?" Harry asked, now quite awake.

"Yes," Kreacher continued. "He sits between Master Albus and Mistress Rose even as we speak."

Harry quickly leapt to the bureau and started opening drawers. Where the Marauders Map should have been was a note that read:

Sorry Dad. But don't worry. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

Love Albus.

"Ginny," Harry called, "your son has stolen the Marauders Map!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's a challenge for you: try and find my references to the films. Enjoy!

Everyone stared at Scorpy as he walked into the common room. Devon Finnegan, one of the Gryffindor prefects, was practically screaming to keep everyone's attention on him as he lectured on school rules. The whispering just continued to grow louder and louder until Devon looked directly at James and shouted, "Potter, get your brother's friend out of here before he starts a riot!"

Al watched as his brother flushed in anger. His face almost matched his hair. "He's a Gryffindor and he has as much right to be here as any of us. And if the rest of us are talking over you, Finnegan, maybe you should try to be more interesting!" James shouted back.

Al's eyes widened in surprise. He had never known his brother to be so fair-minded. Not to him, anyway. Scorpy was trying to shrink away behind Al and Rose.

"I'm warning you, Potter," Devon said threateningly.

James stepped right up to Devon. Al noticed they were the same height even though Devon was a fifth year and James was only a third year. "Go on with your lecture, Finnegan," James told him sternly.

Devon stepped away from James and looked back at the rest of the Gryffindors, who were now focused on him and James instead of Scorpy. He continued his lecture on the rules. Al was so busy looking gobsmacked at his brother that he barely knew when Devon was finished.

"James, wait!" he called as he ran after his brother.

James spun around and looked solemnly at Al. "You need to take care of your friend," he said sternly. "It's going to take a while for everyone to get used to the idea of him being here."

Al sighed. "Why did _you_ take up for him?" he asked. "You didn't act like you liked him on the train."

"Because persecuting someone because they're a pure-blood is just as stupid as persecuting someone because they're Muggle-born," James answered. "Now get up to your dormitory before I hex you to the next century."

"That was a lousy put down, by the way," Al told his brother as he ran up the stairs.

When Al opened the door to the dormitory, he saw a rather chubby brown-haired boy holding his hand out to Scorpy. "I'm Matthew Lewis," he said. "What's your name?"

Scorpy enthusiastically took Matthew's hand, but he wasn't allowed to answer.

"He's a Malfoy," a boy in the corner said venomously.

Al recognized the boy as Alfie Thomas's little brother, Corwin. He was much larger than Scorpy and he was moving toward him menacingly.

"You probably recognize the name from wanted posters in Diagon Alley," Corwin told Matthew.

"No one in my family is wanted," Scorpy protested.

"No, they're already locked up in Azkaban, aren't they?" Corwin asked mockingly.

Scorpy's fingers balled into a fist and Corwin moved toward him threateningly. Al quickly grabbed Scorpy's arm before he could swing and the fifth boy in the room, whom Al did not recognize, shoved Corwin back. Matthew got out of the way so fast, he fell right on his bottom.

"You're going to get us in trouble on our first night," the fifth boy told Corwin through his thick Belfast accent.

"Stay away from me, Malfoy!" Corwin sneered before returning to his bed.

"Gladly," Scorpy retorted. He stretched a hand out to Matthew, who took it and stood up. "I'm Scorpious Malfoy, in case you're interested."

"But please, call him Scorpy," Al added.

"This is Al," Scorpy said.

Al shook Matthew's hand then turned to the fifth boy. "And who might you be?" he asked.

"Fletcher Murray," he answered, shaking Al's hand.

"I'm guessing you're from Ireland," Scorpy said, eyeing the gigantic Irish flag Fletcher had hung next to his bed.

"That I am," Fletcher said proudly. "Where are you lot from?"

"London," Al and Scorpy answered together.

"I'm from Manchester," Matthew informed them.

They all looked at Corwin who was ignoring them and haughtily pulling back the covers on his bed.

"Corwin lives in Sheffield," Al said quietly. He looked at Scorpy. "Don't worry, he'll come around soon enough. He's not usually as hot-tempered as his brother."

A gentle knock at the door signaled the entrance of Professor Longbottom. "You boys had better get ready for bed," he told them. "Potter, can I see you out here for a moment?"

"He's Harry Potter's son?" Matthew whispered to Scorpy as Al followed Professor Longbottom out the door.

"You couldn't tell by looking at him?" Scorpy asked.

Al laughed at their conversation as Professor Longbottom closed the door behind them. Al knew Neville quite well, but he had never looked so serious as he did at that moment.

"I've just had an urgent owl from your dad," Neville told him.

The muscles in Al's neck started to twitch. He knew exactly what Neville was going to say.

"Did you really think he wasn't going to ask for it back?" Neville continued.

"I don't know what you mean," Al lied.

Neville wasn't convinced. "You left him a note, Al. That's pretty much a confession of guilt."

"Professsor," Al began slowly, "I haven't got anything that belongs to Dad. You can look through my things, if you want."

"Passed it to James, have you?" Neville asked.

"Why would I pass anything to James? He wouldn't give it back," Al answered.

"Rosie, then?"

"Rose wouldn't hide anything for me," Al said, "not that I have anything to hide."

Neville rubbed his forehead in frustration. He leaned over and whispered to Al, "Don't get into trouble with it."

Al smiled brightly as he watched Neville walk away. He spied a small, flesh-colored object withdrawing under the door as he walked back into the dormitory.

"You should be careful with the Extendable Ears," he warned. "Most of the teachers here were students when they were invented. They know about them all too well."

"But what was the professor talking about?" Matthew asked.

"It's a secret," Al answered conspiratorially, "passed down from generations of Potter men."

"If it's such a big secret, how come Professor Longbottom knows about it?" Corwin asked grumpily.

"Go on and show it to us," Fletcher requested.

"I can't," Al answered.

"Why ever not?" Scorpy asked, quite disappointed.

"Rose's got it."

"Thought you said she wouldn't hide anything for you," Scorpy said.

"Oh, she wouldn't," Al answered, "but she doesn't know she's got it."

Matthew's eyes were widening. "Got what?" he asked excitedly.

"The Marauder's Map," Al answered, smiling.

The other four boys in the room looked quite disappointed. "The what?" Matthew asked.

Corwin sneered. "You've gone to an awful lot of trouble to nick and hide an old map."

"It shows you where everyone is in every nook and cranny of the castle," Al explained defensively. "My grandfather and his mates conjured it some way. They used it for sneaking out at night. I heard my dad and Uncle Ron talking about it once."

"Bed!" shouted a voice from beyond the door.

"I reckon we should do as he says," Matthew said nervously, heading for his bed.

As they changed into their pyjamas, Scorpy whispered, "Hey, Al, you don't think Rose would've tossed the map, do you?"

"Nah," Al answered. "Rose keeps all spare bits of parchment she comes across."

"I thought you said it was a map," Scorpy said, clearly confused.

"Yeah, but right now, it just looks like a spare bit of parchment," Al answered.

"I'm not quite following you," Scorpy said.

"Don't worry," Al said happily. "It'll all make sense when I get it back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's gonna be a big day then," Scorpy said as he pulled the covers up under his arms.

"A very big day indeed," Al said as the lights went out.


End file.
